Credit cards are used every day by millions of people worldwide to disburse payment for goods and services. A standard credit card includes a magnetic stripe on which is encoded data about the credit card account. The magnetic stripe includes fine magnetic particles which are embedded in a plastic-like film and can be magnetized. Credit card account data can be stored, written or encoded on the magnetic stripe by magnetizing the magnetic particles in the stripe.
Proprietors of goods and services who accept credit cards as a form of payment from customers maintain a credit card reading device which deciphers the encoded credit card account data on the magnetic stripe for the purpose of conducting a financial transaction. The credit card reading device includes a card slot which is sized to receive the credit card. As the credit card is gripped and slid or “swiped” through the card slot of the credit card reading device, a small induction coil in the device detects a succession of magnetic and non-magnetic zones in the magnetic stripe of the credit card. As the magnetic zones on the stripe pass the induction coil, the coil generates electrical pulses. The device deciphers the electrical pulses and credits the transaction to the cardholder's account accordingly.
One of the drawbacks of using a conventional credit card having a magnetic stripe is that the magnetic stripe on the card is vulnerable to scratches and other defects, particularly if the card is used often. As the credit card reading device reads the credit card during swiping of the card, a scratch or other defect in the magnetic stripe may cause a spike in the pulses created by the induction coil in the device. An excessively-sensitive credit card reading device may misinterpret the spike in the pulses. Consequently, the account data which is encoded on the magnetic stripe may not be deciphered correctly and the sale for goods or services may be declined.
A common method of ameliorating the effects of scratches or other defects in the magnetic stripe on a credit card involves wrapping the credit card in a plastic bag and holding the wall of the plastic bag flat against the side of the credit card on which the magnetic stripe appears. As the credit card is subsequently swiped through the card slot of the credit card reading device, the thickness of the plastic bag wall increases the distance between the credit card reading device and the magnetic stripe, thus reducing the strength of the pulses and smoothing out fluctuations or spikes in the pulses. This pulse attenuating effect often enables the credit card reading device to correctly read or decipher the data encoded on the magnetic stripe and authorize the sale.
Use of a conventional plastic bag to swipe a credit card in a credit card reading device has several drawbacks. The availability of a plastic bag which is suitable for the purpose may be lacking when it is desired to conduct a financial transaction using a credit card. Moreover, wrapping the credit card in the bag in such a manner that the wall of the bag is placed flat against the side of the credit card having the magnetic stripe is a cumbersome and laborious exercise and typically requires experience to properly execute.
Accordingly, a credit card swipe sleeve and a method which enhances accurate reading of a credit card as the credit card is swiped in a credit card reading device are needed.